


How did one describe Greg Lestrade?

by LucoLoco



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pining, Pining Sherlock, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2017-12-05 19:10:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucoLoco/pseuds/LucoLoco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone is trying to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> written for fun and to contribute to Silver Fox Saturday
> 
> I may or may not continue this, depending on opinions, feedback, blah blah blah

How did one describe Greg Lestrade?

Lestrade worked hard at his job and genuinely cared about the people involved in the cases he worked on. He did his best to bring them some sort of justice. Everyone could see that (though, it was tacitly understood that his working so hard was why his marriage failed). Lestrade was well liked by his colleagues, and not just for his work ethic. He tried to get everyone along so work could get done. Outside of work, Lestrade was friendly and outgoing. He was always getting invited to pub nights and asked to join weekend football teams.

And god, was Lestrade handsome. He aged well: his grey hair managing to make him look distinguished instead of older, the wrinkles in face making him seem more rugged. He had a great figure as he found time to stay in shape, and many would say that Lestrade had quite the ass.

He was not perfect: he wasn’t as intelligent as others, occasionally he missed things, he didn’t have the answers to everything, and he had pushed his own wife away, but he was a more-than-decent man and his positive attributes severely outweighed his few flaws. It was hard to find a person who had anything truly bad to say about Lestrade.

Sherlock came to the conclusion that it was hopeless. Lestrade was quite the catch. He must have had plenty of prospects since getting divorced, many who would be the better choice for him than Sherlock.

This was not the first time Sherlock laid on the sofa, thinking of situations where he could bring up that he was interested romantically in the Detective Inspector, wondering if he even deserved to pursue this man. He had wanted to breach the subject several times since the divorce, but he always talked himself out of it. Sherlock was aware of his own glaring flaws. Sherlock knew that many of them could be deal breakers and unattractive.

Sherlock had decided it was better to just keep quiet that rather than feel the pain of almost inevitable rejection.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock considers help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one person asked me to continue. that's enough.

Did he dare ask John?

A week after he concluded that he should give up on Lestrade, Sherlock found himself on the sofa yet again. Of course Sherlock would not give up on something once he wanted it, that thing being a relationship with Lestrade.

However, Sherlock didn’t think he’d have a shot at the DI considering his faults, but perhaps if he asked John for help, maybe he could find out what he needed to do to improve his chances for winning Lestrade over.

John seemed to have grown close to Lestrade, and that might benefit him. Sure, Sherlock could deduce certain things going on in Lestrade’s life, but he didn’t quite know how to respond to that, certainly not in an emotional capacity. But John, on the other hand... John understood people well, and if John was as great friends with Lestrade as Sherlock suspected, then John would know how Sherlock should approach the man.

Thing was, and maybe he was overthinking this, but would John even help him? Not that John wouldn’t help a friend in need, but what would John think of Sherlock’s interest? Would he undermine Sherlock’s grasp of his own feelings and tell him he just _thought_ he wanted Lestrade? Would John think Sherlock was not ready for a commitment? Maybe John would be looking out for _Lestrade_ , and protect him from Sherlock’s inadequacy as a significant other. Maybe John would just laugh at the idea that Sherlock had romantic feelings for anybody.

Sherlock knew he was being ridiculous, that John wasn’t the type to mock or belittle, but still… John may not agree that it would be a good relationship and Sherlock didn’t want to hear that. Then again, maybe John would find nothing wrong with it, and would actually help him.

Sherlock struggled with the idea of having to put his feelings about Lestrade out there for John, but he eventually realized that if he wanted Lestrade this much, he would have to take all the necessary risks, and that included the possibility of disapproval from a friend.

Sherlock continued to lay on the sofa, thinking of how he could ask when John came into the flat.

He swallowed and attempted to put up a mask of nonchalance.

“John?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock reaches out for help

"John"

John cocked his head towards Sherlock as he walked into the flat.

"I need your assistance," Sherlock continued. John looked mildly surprised that Sherlock would ask him for any kind of help. Sherlock could already see John trying to figure out if it was for a case or if he just needed his medical knowledge in general.

"Yeah, Sherlock, what is it? What do you need?" John asked.

Sherlock sat up and tried to ask his question in a way that wouldn't betray his real objective.

"I need to know about Lestrade," Sherlock said. John just nodded. "How's his love life?"

John's eyes widened.

"Well, why do you want to know?" John responded.

How could Sherlock answer this while avoiding putting his real intentions out there?

"He's been annoying on recent cases and I'm checking to make sure my deductions are correct that he isn't currently dating someone," he lied.

"Oh, well... No, he's not dating anybody at the moment," John answered.

Now, Sherlock just had to ease into the next part...

"Well, what's he into? What's he looking for in a relationship?" Sherlock replied. John furrowed his brow in confusion. "I want to help him find a date so he'll stop being insufferable," Sherlock continued. John quirked his eyebrow, clearly in doubt.

Ah, not as smooth as he thought he'd be. Could he salvage this?

"I just want to help him out," Sherlock tried.

"I hope you'll understand when I say that's obviously bullshit." John replied. _Well, it as worth a shot_ , Sherlock thought.

"What is it, really?" John inquired. Sherlock supposed honesty would be best at this point.

"I..." Sherlock trailed off, unable to continue. Oh wow, honesty was hard. John just stared at Sherlock, waiting.

"I want a relationship with Lestrade." Sherlock finally said.

"A- a romantic one?" John said, surprised.

"Of course, John" Sherlock shot back, getting slightly irritated, though he wasn't sure whether it was from John's inability to grasp the situation right away or from feeling vulnerable.

"So, when you asked..." Sherlock watched, from the sofa, as John processed Sherlock's early query about Lestrade's type and what it meant. John started to smirk. Sherlock suddenly regretted telling John. He should have just kept it to himself.

"Forget it, John." Sherlock said while trying to hide his frustration. He made for his room, pushing past John.

"Don't you want help though?"

That stopped Sherlock.

He turned around to face John, who had started to follow him.

"I mean, you were basically asking what kind of person Lestrade is attracted to."

Sherlock just nodded. Silence stretched between them.

Sherlock decided to put one of his concerns out there: "You don't think it's wrong?"

"Wrong?" John quirked his head.

"Me wanting to be with him?"

"Well, I'm not sure how compatible you guys are," John admitted, but hurried to finish his sentence when he saw Sherlock deflate slightly, "but I guess I want to make sure you're serious and that you understand what being in a relationship will mean in general and with Lestrade."

"And you think Lestrade would be open to this? With me?" Sherlock asked directly.

John stared at his friend, and then responded bluntly: "Honestly, I don't know."

Sherlock swallowed. He didn't like John's uncertainty, but he couldn't help but appreciate the honesty. He supposed it'd be worse if John built him up, setting him for a worse fall if he were rejected.

"Okay. Okay, so... What can you tell me?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gives advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried. dialogue is harrrrrrrrrrrrd.

"Okay. Okay, so... What can you tell me?"

John knit his brow as he thought about what he could say to help Sherlock. His brows popped up when he thought of a great place to start.

"Well, he's only just finally getting into the dating scene."

"What?!" Sherlock blurted. Was he too late? He didn't think... Of course, it was likely that Lestrade would be more than successful in reentering the dating scene, that he would already be dating someone, that they'd click right away, and that it would survive to become a long term relationship. Sherlock, so stupid to wait this long.

John, taken aback by Sherlock's response and not so sure what was quite going on in his friend's head, attempted to calm Sherlock down.

"Relax, he's not even gone out on a date yet. I meant that he's only just ready since the divorce, but he hasn't actually _sought out_ a date yet. I think he's having trouble getting back into it."

"How would he have trouble?" Sherlock asked. How could such a man like Lestrade have trouble on the dating scene? Sherlock knew he would be quite the catch.

"Lestrade thinks he's too old and worn out," John explained.

"He's not too old," Sherlock said bluntly.

"Well, that's what he thinks Sherlock. Anyway, he also knows he doesn't want casual sex, and no flings," John said, but with a look as if to confirm something. Sherlock caught on and sought to clear any of John's doubts.

"I'm not interested in that. I..." Sherlock paused. He felt weird saying it for John, putting his intentions out there, but he went on. "I want to have a long term relationship with Lestrade."

"Okay, just... just checking," John said. "Basically, Lestrade wants a serious relationship, but he thinks he's too old to be considered for something like that. He doesn't want to feel like he's being used for sex and then getting dumped because his date is tired of him."

Sherlock simply nodded. He didn't understand how Lestrade thought this little of himself, but nevertheless, Sherlock took note of this, but he wasn't quite sure what to do with the information. As if John was reading his mind, John continued his explanation.

"Sherlock, that means if you do pursue Lestrade, and he happens to be interested, you need to be sensitive to his feelings. That means you need to lay off your usually sniping and name calling. If you really want this with him, you need to make him feel good about himself."

_I can do that_ , Sherlock thought to himself.

"Anything else I should know?" Sherlock inquired. John thought about it for a bit before speaking.

"Well, in general, how much do you know about being in a relationship? Besides the obvious that you would be dating Lestrade, you'd also have to act differently."

"How so?"

"Well, it can't be a one-sided relationship. He seems to be at your beck and call, but if you do want a relationship, you have to be willing to do things for him, no matter how mundane or stupid you think it is," John explained.

Sherlock nodded confidently. He could do that. He certainly wouldn't back off simply because some effort was asked of him. John resumed with his advice.

"Oh! Um... You have to communicate with Lestrade as well," John said. Sherlock went to open his mouth but John cut him off. "I can only tell you so much about how to act in a relationship, but you have to talk to Lestrade about what he wants from you and what you want from him. And in some cases, you'll have to wait for him to talk to you first. I know you could deduce how he feels, but trust me, no one wants their feelings deduced and laid in front of them if they're not ready. It won't work if you try to solve things on your own," John said.

This would be tough for Sherlock, as communication was never his strong point, and deducing how people felt had the unintentional goal of skipping certain talks, but he could do it. He could learn to do these things for Lestrade. Sherlock was committed to this and he would not allow this to deter him or scare him off.

"Is that it John?"

"It's all I can think of right now. Just remember what I told you, _actually_ implement it in your 'courting' of Lestrade, and things should be fine."

Sherlock nodded in response. Then Sherlock thought of a question he almost foolishly forgot to ask.

"John, how do I even approach him about dating?" Sherlock asked.

"Really? I was certain you'd go straight for it. This really is throwing you for a loop, isn't it?" John joked. Sherlock scowled, but John just laughed. "This is one of the cases where I'd actually say be yourself. He's gonna be surprised no matter how you ask him, but if you're straightforward like you usually are... well, it might be familiar to him, if that makes sense?"

"You mean despite the fact that he'll be surprised by my interest, he'll feel safe or comfortable if I approach him the way I usually would."

"Pretty much."

Sherlock looked away from John for a bit. Then he swallowed.

"John, I... I appreciate your advice and I'm glad I have your support." Sherlock spoke.

"No problem at all," John replied, smiling at Sherlock. He then excused himself and went off to his room. Meanwhile, Sherlock laid back on the sofa, determined to set his plan into motion.

He'd talk to Lestrade tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock goes to ask Lestrade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, I am so sorry I took so long to write the next chapter. I started a class around the last update so that took up my time, but then coincidentally around when the class ended, something happened to me that really affected me in a negative way and it affected my ability to do anything.
> 
> But thanks to those checking in, I didn't realize people were waiting, so it meant a lot that people have been interested in this and letting me know, and so it really helped me get back to this and back on track. Thanks to all of you!
> 
> I hope you like the new chapter!
> 
> Always open to criticism and any pointing out of mistakes or typos.

_I can do this_ , Sherlock thought to himself self-assuredly as he sat in the cab currently taking him to New Scotland Yard. It was evening (Sherlock figured that might be the best time to catch Lestrade), and he was on his way to tell Lestrade about his romantic interest in him. It would be easy. He often spoke bluntly with Lestrade about other matters, this would be no different.

Although Sherlock decided after speaking with John that he would see Lestrade the next day, he had been hoping that Lestrade would call with a crime to investigate, giving him a better reason to be going over to see him, rather than go over to see him in his office with the supposed reason of seeking out a case to help on.

Sherlock had entered the cab with brimming with confidence, but the closer to Scotland Yard they got, the more he started to think about what he was actually about to do.

What if he needed more time to prepare to do. _Prepare for what, I'm just asking a question,_ Sherlock quickly told himself. Admittedly, he wasn't prepared, if one could truly prepare for such a thing. He was determined to get this over with, but he slowly recognized that it was partly from anxiousness, but partly out of an odd sense of curiosity. The anxiousness, of course, being from the need to know right that second what Lestrade was going to say say, but the curiosity was that he wanted to know how Lestrade felt about him and how he would feel about the whole "situation".

And it struck Sherlock then: as far as things went, Sherlock realized that he didn't know how Lestrade saw him at all. He at least had the comfort of knowing that Lestrade didn't just see him as just someone to get the job done, he couldn't. Lestrade invested so much time and effort into helping Sherlock get clean all those years ago. Even Sherlock knew one didn't go through all that simply for a _potential_ colleague.

But had Lestrade ever consider him a friend?

Was Sherlock a charity case to him? Maybe Sherlock was always just someone who needed help in his eyes.

But then again, Lestrade didn't seem the type to keep in contact with someone out of pity, and often times, Lestrade had checked in on Sherlock as if he was just interested in Sherlock's general well-being. And friends did that, right? (And yet, despite what he was telling himself, Sherlock could feel his breathing quicken ever so slightly).

And then Sherlock considered Lestrade's age. He _was_ 13 years younger than Lestrade: what if Lestrade always saw Sherlock as a son. Well, maybe not a son, but someone to look out for, like an older brother would for a younger brother?

Sherlock started to wonder how all that would play out. Sherlock never once thought Lestrade could look at him in a romantic light before, he wasn't that foolish, but considering what Sherlock was on his way to Lestrade's office to do, he couldn't help but wonder: what if Lestrade could _only_ see him as a friend, or a younger brother, or an acquaintance, or even a work colleague he happened to put a lot of effort into helping one time and called on for help occasionally? It was then that Sherlock realized that his chest was hurting a bit.

Oh.

This wasn't a good time to be going down that road, especially when the cab was currently turning onto the road for New Scotland Yard.

As the cab pulled to a stop, Sherlock shut his eyes and attempted to clear his mind of his thoughts, save for any encouraging himself to go in and ask the DI out. He focused on removing the bad thoughts, ignoring whichever ones were stil trying to niggle their way into his mind. At some point, the cabbie asked if Sherlock was okay. Sherlock became aware then that he must look a bit silly sitting in the back of the cab with his eyes shut with a certain level of intensity, not making a move to get out. He smirked at the thought, it was that that helped him relax, and he even felt some of the stress going away.

He knew he'd be fine.

Sherlock apologized to the cabbie, gave him some cash, and exited the vehicle. He entered the building and headed straight for Lestrade's office.

Sherlock could do this. Even if Lestrade rejected him, he knew Lestrade wouldn't be harsh about it. Lestrade would do so nicely, and Sherlock would be able to get over it. It wouldn't be the end of the world. Sherlock felt himself actually relaxing and breathed more easily. 

Sherlock got to Lestrade's door, started to move to open the door but aborted the movement. He stood there frozen for what may have been only ten seconds, but to him it felt like minutes.

He took one deep breath and let it out before he let himself into Lestrade's office. 

Lestrade had his head down since he was apparently doing some paperwork, but Sherlock could see Lestrade register the sound of the door opening. Lestrade looked up and smiled softly. Oh god, that smile had the tendency to make Sherlock's stomach flutter. And those brown eyes of his currently looking at him certainly made it much easier to maintain eye contact when Sherlock actually made an attempt at it in conversations.

"Ah, Sherlock, haven't seen you in a bit. What brings you here?" he asked, though as if Sherlock's presence was a pleasant one.

Sherlock tried to form the sentence he needed to ask in his head but his mind was rushing.

_You haven't contacted me for any cases in a while, you haven't called me for anything, why haven't you called me, call me I want to talk to you I want to ask you out I want you please be interested in me please don't reject me_

"Case."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vulnerable!Sherlock is my favorite Sherlock, though it's hard for me to keep him IC, so apologies if you find him OOC in any way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock makes the attempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue heavy chapter :7

"What?" 

"Case. Why haven't you contacted me for a case recently?"

"Ha. Course that's why you're here," Lestrade sighed as he rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. "Well, we haven't needed you for any cases so there's been no need to contact you."

Sherlock became upset, though managing to keep it from showing on his face. After all, being told his very fear, that he was only contacted when he was needed, by his object of affection stung.

However, Sherlock then registered what Lestrade said before that: _"Course that's why you're here."_

His stomach sank. Lestrade thought Sherlock was only there for a case? And the way he said it, Sherlock clearly did this often enough for Lestrade to say it as though he assumed he was never there for any other reason but a case.

Oh, this wasn't good. Not at all.

The entire time leading up to this encounter, Sherlock was afraid about how Lestrade saw him relationship-wise, but never once did he think about how _he_ was presenting himself to Lestrade; it never occurred to him that his actions may show Lestrade the opposite of how he actually thought of him and their relationship. Apparently, Lestrade must only see himself as a supplier of cases for Sherlock, and not someone Sherlock liked spending time with.

If Sherlock had any confidence that asking Lestrade out was going to work, this realization completely destroyed it. He couldn't even asked any time soon until he did some damage control. Maybe he should cut his losses and give up. Just get up and walk out out of the office.

But no, Sherlock couldn't go out like this. He came all the way here with a purpose. If he couldn't do exactly what he wanted, he could still do something about his situation.

Sherlock continued the conversation in what he decided was the best way: "Why would you assume I was only here for a case?" Sherlock asked as casually as he could as if he hadn't already figured it out. And maybe if he heard why from Lestrade himself, he could counter it right there in the office.

Lestrade laughed. "Well, when do you come for anything else?"

Sherlock thought hard. There must have been a time when he hadn't come in for– ah yes!

"Why, why I come here to invite you to our holiday parties."

Lestrade chuckled. "Ah, yeah, I guess! But to be honest, I figured that was only because John asks you to." Sherlock really wished Lestrade would stop finding all this funny.

Sherlock had to fight back the urge to tell him the whole truth behind being invited to their holiday parties, because while it _was_ true that John would ask Sherlock to ask Lestrade to these parties, and Sherlock could only assume Lestrade was guessing this or John had mentioned in a conversation one day, Sherlock only _feigned_ reluctance at being asked, and if John hadn't ask him to invite Lestrade yet, Sherlock would leave subtle "reminders" (a mention of Lestrade at the start of the holiday season, looking at or leaving notes from a case Lestrade was handling near areas of the flat John tended to gravitate to, etc.) to remind John to ask Sherlock to invite Lestrade, but Sherlock couldn't tell Lestrade that he did this (mostly because he couldn't tell _anybody_ he did this).

Sherlock managed to look offended at the idea that he was forced into doing anything he didn't want to. "Well, it's not as if John _makes_ me ask you, I'm just not used to inviting people over to my flat for anything." Lestrade huffed a laugh at that, muttering something about how _that_ was true since it was more likely to find Sherlock already in your place if he wanted you for something. " _Anyway Lestrade,_ I wouldn't invite you into our home if I didn't feel comfortable with you being there. I don't even invite Mycroft over for Christmas," Sherlock stated.

Lestrade conceded. "Okay then, I'm sorry, I guess you have been over for reasons other than cases… even if you have to be motivated by someone else to come here when it's not case related." Sherlock nodded at Lestrade as if to congratulate him for getting there, but also finally felt a little relief.

However, after a long pause, Lestrade asked, "What's this all about then?"

"Hm?" Sherlock asked, head cocked.

"Come on, you know what I'm talking about. I mean, you just went through all _that_ to convince me that you don't just come here for cases."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes as if confused, but internally he was impressed by the DI for figuring something was up, but also cursing him. This conversation couldn't just go easily for him, could it. Lestrade continued: "Is this about a favor you're looking for then? Do you need something from me? You didn't have to do all that for one."

 _No, no! This wasn't for a favor!,_ Sherlock shouted in his head. Sherlock was starting to get frustrated, Lestrade clearly saw their relationship as nothing more than favors, and worse, Sherlock only perpetuated the idea. This was worse than he thought.

"What? No I don't need something! Not from you!" Sherlock said, agitated.

"Calm down. You did come to me asking about a case," Lestrade reminded him.

Sherlock couldn't tell Lestrade that he was here to ask him out, to lay out his romantic intentions, not at this point. Lestrade would most likely see it as Sherlock playing a joke, or using him for some sort of gain, or god knows what. Sherlock wanted to just storm out of there and figure this out later, but he could have walked out of here earlier, but he stayed to try to make this work because he wanted this, and so he made an attempt:

"Maybe I came to see how you were." Sherlock said matter of factly.

"Were you?" Lestrade asked, cocking his eyebrow, not really convinced.

"Well, like I said earlier, you haven't contacted me in a while, for a case or anything, maybe I was curious as to how you were."

"You came here to check on me." Lestrade was throughly thrown off now.

"Yes!" Sherlock said, nearly exasperated.

"You came all the way from your flat to my office just to see how I was?" Lestrade asked incredulously, but not as if he were rejecting what he was hearing. No, it was as if he was fascinated that Sherlock was capable of that. Sherlock took that as a positive sign.

"Is that so strange?" Sherlock posed.

"Well, most people would just call…" Lestrade responded. "But then again, I suppose you're not most people."

"Certainly not." Sherlock replied indignantly.

"Well then… I'm… I'm doing fine Sherlock. Things are going alright. Not great but not terribly. And you're doing fine I hope?"

_I've not been fine I've been obsessing over asking you out and I just discovered that you most likely see our friendship as nothing more than I see you when I need you and give you nothing in return You probably can't even tell that I've been miserable this entire conversation because I was too stupid in the past to stop myself from fucking this up. I'm doing horribly._

"I'm doing absolutely fine as well."

Lestrade then had a big smile on his face. "That's great, Sherlock."

Sherlock suddenly got uncomfortable, not knowing how to proceed with the conversation. "Well then, I've checked in on you, and you are fine." He got up to leave.

"And you came all the way over here just to make sure. Should I be flattered?" Lestrade asked with a smirk.

Sherlock turned away before he could give any facial tells away. "Possibly. Anyway, good day to you Lestrade."

"Bye Sherlock."

Sherlock simply waved on his way out the door.

Sherlock left Scotland Yard with too much on his mind. Sherlock had been afraid that Lestrade may not see him as more than a colleague let alone a friend, but it was Sherlock giving off that impression. However, all was not lost. That conversation didn't go the way he wanted but it didn't end on a bad note. It ended well considering what he learned.

This was not going to be as quick and easy as he thought. Though, he supposed it wouldn't be if he actually wanted this relationship with Lestrade.

\- - -

Lestrade picked up his cell phone a minute after Sherlock left and hit a number on speed dial.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey John, it's Lestrade."_

_"Oh hey Lestrade"_

_"Hey, is, um, is Sherlock alright?"_

_"What? What did the git do?"_

_"Well, nothing bad… but he came over asking if I had a case for him, and got offended when I implied that's all he ever came over for, he even tried to convince me otherwise."_

_"Oh… well.. that's strange…"_

_"Well you'd think that would be the weirdest part, but we had a conversation that was just... catching up."_

_"Oh, um, wow…"_

_"I don't know what this means, I don't think he was on drugs or anything..."_

_"He's not! Trust me, I'd know."_

_"Ah, good, but… you know he's not the person who would leave the flat to have a small talk-type conversation, let alone have that kind of talk at all. I just, I don't even know what to be looking out for but, uh can you keep a close eye on him? I feel like maybe he needed something but I must've found him out before he could bring it up..."_

_"Alright, will do."_

_"Thanks so much, John. I really appreciate it."_

_"No problem! See you later then."_

_'Yeah, bye."_

Lestrade hung up. Hopefully, it was just a case of him looking too much into the situation, and that Sherlock was just having an off day, but he needed to make sure.

-

After struggling during the phone call, John finally doubled over in laughter. Sherlock really was awful at this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of Sherlock struggling with this kind of situation, and I wanted to see if I could do his quick thinking in this type of situation, where he wasn't sure how to proceed. I hope I kept in IC. So much editing...
> 
> I like the idea of Sherlock having autism (because I can project) so I did try to write him how _I_ would approach it on an emotional level in terms of both the empathy part of it and the understanding of the situation, though it's tough writing it on his level of intellect.
> 
> Always welcome to comments, criticisms, and pointing out any typos or errors.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock and John regroup at 221b

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am terrible at updating stuff, considering I'm not writing much, so thank you for sticking around and such!

"It went awfully, John"

Sherlock slammed the door behind him. He looked over at John, only to become intensely irritated.

"You know already, don't you?" he accused. "How do you already know?"

"How the hell do you do that Sherlock?" John asked. He'd been sitting on the sofa, attempting to act as nonchalant as possible for when Sherlock returned. Clearly he wasn't working hard enough at it.

"Your shoulders gave it away. Lestrade must have called you," Sherlock said as he took off his jacket and scarf.

"Yeah, well, he thought you were acting strange and he got worried" John replied. Sherlock groaned in response.

"This is terrible John. Not only did he think I was there for a case, but he thinks all I use him for is cases." Sherlock threw himself into his seat. "John, I thought it was the other way around, that he used me, but I just found out that he thinks our relationship is based on the fact that I only speak to him when I need him for something. What can I do?"

John thought about it. It's not like he could tell Sherlock anything different. Even he saw Sherlock and Lestrade's relationship as one-sided until Sherlock revealed how he really felt.

"To be honest, Sherlock, I don't know if you can really convince him that it was never one-sided, even if _you_ never saw it that way. I mean, can you honestly say that you ever went to him without the intention of asking him for something? And inviting him over doesn't count since you know damn well I always make you."

Sherlock stared at John, hoping he could come up with an example. And again, he definitely couldn't tell John that he, in a very elaborate way, would make it seem like it was John's idea to invite Lestrade over for parties. He might as well give John permanent leverage. But as Sherlock thought about it, and besides his convoluted method of getting John to ask him to invite Lestrade over, he really couldn't argue against what John was saying and what Lestrade had expressed. Sherlock swallowed and shook his head.

"That's not to say this can't be fixed Sherlock, but that means you're really going to have to put an effort into changing how you interact with Lestrade."

"I can do that." Sherlock said self-assuredly.

"That means you're going to have to start calling him—" John was cut off by a grimace on Sherlock's face, and rolled his eyes. "Fine, maybe not _call_ but text him, get in contact with him,  _something_ that is you asking about how he is and _isn't_ you asking if he has a case."

"Easy."

"You have to do it more than once every couple of months" John said, to which Sherlock simply responded with one sarcastic laugh. "I assure you Sherlock, I wasn't trying to be funny."

Sherlock couldn't believe John thought that an increase in texts would be out of his depth. Although...

"You're suggesting I just, what? Ask how his day was?"

"That's about it. It may not seem like much, but it'll show him you're thinking about him."

"That's it? I can handle that." Sherlock said confidently.

"How about starting now then?" John challenged.

"Fine then." Sherlock whipped his phone and opened up his text messages. He looked for Lestrade's name, only 4 down, but noticed that the last time he texted him was almost 2 weeks ago. And of course, it was Sherlock asking about a case out of boredom, and Lestrade telling Sherlock there wasn't anything they couldn't handle. Suddenly, Sherlock found it hard to send a text. It would be so out of character for him to do it suddenly. And like, he witnessed earlier, there's a chance that Lestrade would see this as a ruse for something he needed.

"Sherlock?"

"This may not work."

"Texting?"

"Everything. He thought I had been stopping by with an ulterior motive. He will most likely think that is what _this–"_  Sherlock violently raised his phone, "is. In fact, any change in behavior will just result in him thinking something is wrong with me if he doesn't think I'm after something."

"Not if you stick with it," John assured him. "This is not going to happen overnight. Hell, considering everything you've said to me, it won't happen within a month even. But if you're really serious about this, you have to stick with it. You want this, right?"

Sherlock didn't even need to think about it, having a romantic relationship with Lestrade. "Yes, I do. I am very serious about this John."

"Then it starts with showing him you care about him by _showing_ him you think about _him_ , and you can do that with texting. Not every day, you don't need to inundate him with texts, but just every couple of days. Just ask how his day is, how his life is going, how a case is" Sherlock perked up." _without_ offering to solve it."

"Fine. I'll send him something." Sherlock hesitated. "Tomorrow."

"Sherlock—"

"When I went over, to save face, I asked him how he was and how he's been. I know I'm inept at socializing, but even I'm aware that would strike him as weirdly repetitive if I texted him right now, would it not?"

John smiled a bit. It was a good sign that Sherlock was picking up some things already.

"Yeah, send it tomorrow, then."

Sherlock nodded, put his phone in his pocket, and started to walk away when John spoke again.

"Whoa, you are aware that we're nowhere near done with this, right?"

Sherlock would not admit that he thought the phone would be the main thing to help work on the situation, albeit a tedious and long one. He never considered that this was just a _start_.

"Of course I am, but considering the day I had, I am mentally tired John— oh don't make that face, it happens occasionally— and I would like to rest so I can be at my best to take on more of this."

John just nodded, Sherlock not sure if that meant John believe his excuse or not, although Sherlock realized that what was meant to be an excuse was probably true.

After John wished Sherlock a good night, Sherlock wished John the same, and left for his room.

He spent the an hour thinking of the most casual text he could send Lestrade. A lot of consideration went into syntax, and what words he should use, and what would come off as if he hadn't given it a second thought to send him a text of this nature. He even considered how capitalization would play a role in this.

-

After waking up, Sherlock carefully decided he would send the text at noon.

At 12:13 pm, he sent:

"How are you today? - SH"


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lestrade receives a text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of this was originally being written as the end of the last one, but I decided to change that. And after I started it as a new chapter, it so happens that somebody (Empirical_Equipoise) suggested I write a chapter about Lestrade's POV (although they did give me a good idea of where else to take it).
> 
> And thank you all so much for sticking around and sorry that the last chapter took literal months to update.
> 
> The end. <3

Lestrade heard his phone buzz.

He checked it and saw that it was from Sherlock, but when he read the contents of the text, he wondered if maybe Sherlock had gotten his phone stolen by someone. He shook his head when he realized that even if that had happened, Sherlock's scary brother would have intervened a minute later to retrieve it.

"I'm fine. And you?" he sent back.

Lestrade found the current situation be very surreal, Sherlock asking him how he was. Twice in two days, too.

On top of that, he thought back to the day before with Sherlock getting genuinely offended when Lestrade suggested he was after something. Lestrade wondered why Sherlock would get so offended, considering that's all he had ever done. Not that it ever really bothered Lestrade all that much. He kind of knew Sherlock well enough to know that it was just how Sherlock was, that he knew that once Sherlock knew what he wanted, he lost sight of everything and everybody else. He had noticed that Sherlock always seemed to ask him for cases when there were other DIs at the Yard. It made him feel a bit special, in the sense that it must mean something when a genius like Sherlock favored you over others. That's what Lestrade held onto anyway.

Though then again, maybe it was because he was such a pushover and Sherlock knew that.

Lestrade shook that thought out of his head immediately, though.

_Buzz_

"I am fine I suppose. - SH"

Lestrade smiled at the text.

"That's good! I'm glad to know you're doing okay," he sent back.

Lestrade didn't know what was up with Sherlock, but if it was making him nice and considerate enough to inquire about his well-being, Lestrade wouldn't question Sherlock about it. Not that he wasn't curious (he swore not suspicious, just extremely curious). Even though Sherlock had been acting erratically yesterday, the checking in on and the sudden texts were still a nice gesture, yet he wondered what was making Sherlock do this all of a sudden.

Suddenly he heard another buzz from his phone. He checked it expecting Sherlock but saw that it was a text from his friend who had been trying to set him up with someone for a blind date. Apparently they had found someone who they thought was suitable.

Lestrade shot back a text confirming that he'd received his friend's message and that he'd check his schedule for when he was free. After hitting "Send", he sighed. Lestrade was not eager to get back in the dating scene, but he was feeling lonely. He smiled sarcastically to himself. What a position to be in, huh? And it wasn't that he didn't want to be in a relationship, it was dating itself he was averse to.

When he met his ex-wife for the first time, the energy and time was there. They got to know each other through dates until their relationship finally reached a point that they were comfortable with each other.

But that was more than 20 years ago.

He was older, he had a job that demanded a lot of his time, and at this point in his life, Lestrade just wanted someone who knew him and he knew well enough that it would be easy enough to fall into a comfortable relationship.

He knew that was asking too much though, that it would be too easy. He wondered if it made him selfish or lazy to want that? He would drift to the thought that he was just hoping to not put effort into dating, but reminded himself that he was not just tired (from old age) but that after the divorce, he was just emotionally tired and that the excitement of dating would possibly drain him more.

Besides, who did he know well enough that he could pull that type of thing off with anyway? Not many names popping up, especially since most of the friends he had managed to stay married around this point.  _You'd think being bi would mean having more options available_ , Lestrade thought to himself jokingly.

He sighed again. He supposed that's why he had to date. If he wanted to get rid of the loneliness, he'd have to put up with a few awkward evenings with total strangers until he found someone again. It wouldn't be the toughest thing he'd done of course, but still, quite the inconvenience.

He checked his phone. Apparently lost in thought, he missed a text from Sherlock.

"Thank you, Lestrade. Seeing as you would probably be working now, I will leave you to it - SH"

Lestrade laughed to himself. He would never tell Sherlock he used the word, but these three texts alone were precious. He shot one final text back with a grin before getting back to his boring paperwork.

\- - -

Sherlock felt his phone buzz, and read it immediately, as he had been doing each time he received a text from Lestrade.

"Thanks. We can chat later, Sunshine."

_Sunshine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you find typos/errors/anything else of the sort!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock remembers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all like this!
> 
> I'm having a lot of fun writing this though <3

"Sunshine"

Sherlock, now laying on the couch, had put the phone in his pocket but couldn't get the image of the text out of his head.

How long had it been since Lestrade called Sherlock "Sunshine"?

Last time Sherlock heard it had been around the time that he was getting clean. Sherlock didn't remember much from that time. Well, better put, he didn't want to remember much from that period, and he was fairly successful in that particular endeavor. However, he couldn't forget how Lestrade had treated him during that time, not that Sherlock wanted to forget. Lestrade was the only person outside of Sherlock's family that cared about whether he got off of drugs or not. Lestrade would go to Sherlock's flat personally to check up on him, and even got involved.

It was around 5 years ago...

~

_Sherlock was lying on his back on the mattress in his shitty Montague flat._

_The mattress was on the floor, not for any reason except that Sherlock simply didn't think a frame was necessary. If it saved him some money at the time not to have it, it was truly a secondary reason and an added benefit._

_He couldn't sleep. Even though he already didn't sleep often, this was different. It was an_ inability _to sleep._

_Sherlock could almost deal with the lack of sleep if it wasn't for the fact that he felt his mind and body were going to waste. It was one thing that he mistreated his body, but without the cocaine in his system, he felt his mind was deteriorating and no amount of telling himself that wasn't happening could stop the thought. Physically, he was aching all over, but mentally, everything felt dull and numb. He felt trapped, not only in his own body, but almost as if he was stuck existing._

_It was utterly awful._

_Sherlock knew that all he had to do to make it all go away right then was to go get another hit. It was t_ _hat simple. He knew where to find it. Sherlock couldn't move but he would get up and walk out the door if it meant ending this._

_Only one thing stopped him._

_Lestrade was sitting next to him on the mattress. And he wasn't going to let him get up to go out. At least not without him._

_Lestrade had only forced him the night before to go off cocaine, even vowing to stay with him and away from his wife for as long as it took. He'd even have to call into to work if he had to._

__Sherlock resented him for it. Lestrade_ didn't know how awful this was, how shitty this felt. _ _Lestrade said he was doing this for Sherlock's own good, but he had no fucking clue what it was doing to him._

_Sherlock laid there, not understanding why Lestrade was staying behind to help him. It only served to irritate him more that this man he only met a week or so ago (he couldn't remember, he was struggling to keep track of time). What did this man have to gain by torturing Sherlock like this?_

_Who was he even to be doing this, to be forcing himself into Sherlock's space like this? Lestrade barely knew Sherlock._

_"Go away," Sherlock snapped at Lestrade. Lestrade, who had not been looking Sherlock at the time, jerked in surprise._

_"What?"_

_Sherlock realized that Lestrade was talking to him about something but he hadn't been paying attention. It did explain why Lestrade seemed to be caught off guard._

_"Just go. You're not helping, you're making things worse," Sherlock insisted._

_"It only feels that way Sherlock, but I am trying to help. It'll go away," Lestrade responded._

_"By what?" _Sherlock snapped._  "Putting me through _this? _I feel worse than when I was on cocaine."_

_"That'll pass eventually. You've got to tough it through this."_

_"What's the point? It's not like I'm useless on it, I still solved a few of your cases on it. Why are you doing this?"_

_"Sherlock, at the very least, I can't have you going a crime scene on drugs."_

_Sherlock huffed._

_He started to tune Lestrade out at this point. Lestrade continued on about something, probably about how drugs were bad and they'd kill him. Boring._

_Sherlock simply rolled away from Lestrade on the mattress. Lestrade grunted at this, offended._

_"Great," Lestrade was getting frustrated. "Thanks for making me for feel like I'm doing something useful with my time. Aren't you a little ray of sunshine?"_

_Sherlock ignored the insult and went for what he knew would be Lestrade's weak point._

_"So you feel like you're wasting your time? Is this just something you're doing to pass the time until another job comes in?"_

_Lestrade deflated immediately._ _"I'm sorry, Sherlock. I didn't mean it that way. I wouldn't be here if I thought any of this really was a waste."_

_As Lestrade continued to apologize and explain more of why he was there, Sherlock reveled in how bad Lestrade felt._

_And not just that Lestrade felt bad but more that Lestrade felt bad for hurting Sherlock. Sherlock wasn't actually offended by Lestrade's earlier statement of wasting his time, but he would hold onto that, already planning to use it whenever he needed Lestrade to back off._

_The next couple of days, Lestrade continued to stay with to help Sherlock get through the withdrawal while keeping an eye on him in spite of the jabs he received. Sherlock would attempt to make Lestrade leave him alone by making Lestrade feel bad for being there, saying things like, "Need me in good shape to get your work done for you?" or "Frustrated you have to fritter your time away here to get work done at the Yard?"_

_And when he said those things, Lestrade's face would crumple a bit, and Sherlock took that in. At first, he relished it. Served Lestrade right for thinking Sherlock was a charity case._

_But as Lestrade stayed and conversed with him, whether Sherlock actually participated or not, that face started to get to Sherlock. Maybe it was that Sherlock started to believe Lestrade's intentions weren't strictly selfish in nature, maybe it was just the fact that Lestrade's face when he was hurt was like looking in the face of a puppy he just kicked (Sherlock would deny to himself that he ever compared the man invading his space to a cute but sad puppy). Maybe there was something else going on with Sherlock, something he didn't want to explore, but either way, he began to feel bad for what he was saying to Lestrade. So Sherlock decided to be nicer to the man trying to help him, and while he didn't ease on the rude comments, Sherlock decided to stop being so harsh._

_After the first couple of days where Sherlock's withdrawal was the worst, Lestrade felt that he could trust Sherlock and give him space, but he still visited every other day just to check in on him. Sherlock was still making his jibes, but at some point, Lestrade had started to respond to them. That's when Sherlock started hearing that name._

_Sunshine._

__"If you're going to order food, the least you could have done was get food I actually liked." "Sorry if I'm not a mind reader like you, Sunshine."_ _ _  
_

__"It was the sister, obviously." "Sorry I didn't pick up on it sooner, Sunshine."_ _

__"You should switch that tie, doesn't suit you." "Sorry about that, Sunshine. I'll consider what I wear next time I come here."_ _

_Sherlock should be offended. He knew Lestrade was saying it sarcastically, but Sherlock couldn't help but like it. It made him feel like he had something like a friend. Because wasn't that what people did with friends? Call them nicknames? And even if it was out of sarcasm, Sherlock couldn't help but feel a flutter in his chest when Lestrade called him that._

_Sherlock found himself insulting Lestrade less because he was frustrated with his presence, and more because he was fond of it. And if either man noticed that Sherlock's insults towards Lestrade weren't anywhere near as acerbic as they used to be, neither mentioned it._

_Eventually, they got to a point in Sherlock's recovery where Lestrade figured they could celebrate Sherlock being clean for one month by spending a nice night in Sherlock's flat. He brought over dinner and some dessert.  
_

_They sat in Sherlock's fairly empty kitchen, partaking in a bit of Chinese takeaway when they began to converse and eventually ended up on the topic of Lestrade's marriage._

_"And how is your wife anyway?" Sherlock asked, hoping that it was an okay conversation for small talk. He stared into his plate as he ate._

_"Ah, she's doing great. She got promoted at her job." Lestrade said without taking his eyes away from his plate full of food._

_"Good. That's good."_

_"Yeah, we're thinking of moving to another flat. A bigger one."_

_"Whatever do you need more space for?"_

_"Well, you know... a family."_

_Sherlock jerked his head towards Lestrade. Lestrade saw the look on Sherlock's face, but couldn't determine what it meant so he continued, as if it would make it go away._

_"We've discussed it. Not any time soon, but we both were thinking about having a kid. At the very least, she wants a dog and a bigger flat would be good for that."_

_"You might want to stick with the dog." _Sherlock said bluntly. Sherlock wasn't sure why he was upset by this bit of news, but he was. Lestrade couldn't pick up on it though.__

_"Heh, maybe, we'll see... Well then, what about you? What are you up to Sunshine? When are you gonna move out of this dreadful place?"_

_Lestrade didn't catch it, but Sherlock froze for a second. He immediately forgot about being upset._

_Lestrade had called him Sunshine and he definitely did not detect any sarcasm. This was the first time he called him Sunshine outside of teasing. Was it a slip? In any case, Sherlock needed to continue on like nothing happened._

_But t_ _hough Sherlock continued the conversation, he held onto that brief moment, storing it in the back of his mind for later. When Lestrade finally left, Sherlock thought immediately back to that moment. Why did it matter so much that Lestrade called him Sunshine in that situation? Probably because Sherlock couldn't help but see it as affectionate. This made Sherlock smile and he felt what could only be described as warmth growing in his chest. Sherlock basked in this feeling for the rest of the night before going to sleep._

_From that point, Lestrade called him Sunshine regularly, whether they were being short with each other or if they were getting on. It was a nice part of their friendship._

_And yet..._

_~_

Sherlock was frustrated. He couldn't remember when Lestrade stopped calling him Sunshine, or why. Did Sherlock even notice? Was that one of those things he took for granted when it came to Lestrade? That when he did stop calling him by that nickname, Sherlock hadn't done anything? 

Sherlock started to feel guilty. He wasn't sure what the guilt was over exactly, maybe the fact that he thought Lestrade saw him as nothing more than someone to solve cases for him, even though when he truly looked back, there had enough evidence to disprove that. Sherlock didn't know what happened to cause him to forget that their interactions had been more than strictly professional, but he regretted that he let it happen.

The guilt dissipated though as he looked back at the text.

"Sunshine"

Sherlock began to grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, I definitely have a general idea of where this is going but not quite how we're getting there and this is definitely one of those parts that I did not expect to be writing.
> 
> 1\. I had this happening in the course of a month. I realized I didn't establish the time frame in the beginning of the "flashback" until I mentioned a month had passed, so I tried to go back and subtly add more about it. Let me 
> 
> 2\. I realize only now during this chapter that I started this before series 3, meaning Mary's not in the story, which means I either have to make this canon divergence, or work the Fall into this. Uh oh spaghettios. I'll figure that out by the next couple of chapters.
> 
> Again, pointing out errors, typos, inconsistencies, etc. is always welcome as long as done constructively!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock tries a new thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is going to be short[er than usual?] for no reason but it's how it is sometimes.

Despite the niggling fear that it wasn't working and that it was all in vain, Sherlock continued to text Lestrade, whether it was a simple inquiry to how his day was going, or a interesting fact that he knew.

However, Sherlock felt like he was barely moving along. He could tell Lestrade was receptive to the texts, and he had noticed when he was in Lestrade's presence that he was slightly happier to see him (Sherlock noted that Lestrade smirked more than he used to when he arrived on scenes), and he was certain it was the texts. And yet, though that knowledge comforted him, Sherlock was worried that all it meant was that Lestrade would warm up to him, and not necessarily see him in a romantic light.

Sherlock asked John for advice on how to move things along.

"I don't know, spend more time with him"

Sherlock pointed out that he did spend time with him at crime scenes.

"No, like, spend time with him outside of work. Hang out with him. Go to the pub to watch a game or have a drink. See a movie."

Sherlock then pointed out that he didn't like going out.

"People like to go out, Sherlock. Greg definitely does."

Sherlock huffed and grumbled and thanked John for his advice before stomping off to his room.

And that was why Sherlock was currently suffering at the pub in a booth with Greg.

Greg was talking about his life outside of their most recent case (it was practically non-existent as lestrade was really only talking about anything he managed to catch on the television) while Sherlock tried to listen but couldn't.

He hated pubs. _Hated them_. He was trying his best to listen, but he couldn't get over the loudness, the amount of people there (and it was especially crowded that night), it was all too... over-stimulating? Overwhelming? Either way, Sherlock would do this, sit through his intense discomfort, to move things along with Lestrade. However, Greg had noticed something off.

"Sherlock, are you alright?"

Apparently Sherlock really was not doing a good job of seeming interested, which he realized when he looked up from the pint he was staring up to look at Greg. The whole unable-to-stand-pubs thing was clearly getting to him.

"I'm fine Lestrade, do go on." Sherlock tried to brush it off.

"It's just that you don't seem interested." 

"I am, it's just, long day, you know." Sherlock attempted.

"Well yeah, but I meant... you seem like something is wrong," Lestrade pressed.

"It's fine." Sherlock said. Lestrade smirked.

"Sherlock, I may not be as smart as you but I can tell that that's bull." Lestrade responded. Sherlock smiled. Maybe he was influencing his observational skills all this time. "Just tell me Sherlock. Something bothering you?"

Sherlock looked around him at the pub.

"I want to leave. Not go home, but just leave. I can't be here. It's too many people, smells, noises." Sherlock stated near frantic.

Lestrade looked at him with concern. "You're ill? Or—"

"No, I just can't _deal_ with the sensations. There's too much going on and I can't handle  _that_." 

"Alright, we'll go." Lestrade said, finishing off what little was left of his lager and moved to get up. Sherlock would have protested but he was internally celebrating the fact that Lestrade seemed to have no problem leaving.

As they exited the pub and out onto the street, Sherlock ended up apologizing.

"I'm sorry we left before you could even get a second pint in."

Lestrade laughed. "Sherlock, it's fine. I was a little surprised you came out at all, but I appreciated it. If I had known that was a problem for you, I wouldn't have."

Sherlock felt something in his stomach, nervousness, but from a bout of courage.

"You could invite me to more quiet places instead."

He couldn't believe he said that. It felt like the right thing to say. Would he have ever said this earlier?

"Yeah, yeah I could. Like... museums?" Lestrade tried but laughed. Sherlock felt his face start to turn red as it seemed Lestrade found that idea laughable, but Lestrade continued. "I haven't been to a museum in a long time. Maybe the idea of going is weird, but if you know things about the exhibits, maybe we could, go? I could probably stand to be a little more cultured, right?"

"Everyone could," Sherlock tried to say without making it like an insult. Lestrade simply laughed.

"Right, right. Anyway, let me call you a cab."

"I said we didn't have to end—"

"No, I know, but you know, maybe it's a good idea, yeah?"

Sherlock did want to go home to unwind as soon as possible he realized.

So Sherlock let him call the cab. Sherlock started to wonder if Lestrade noticed Sherlock's changed behavior, and if so, what he thought it meant. Lestrade didn't expect him to go out and had invited him anyway. Sherlock thought back to when Lestrade mentioned that he was surprised he went. Then why did he invite him out constantly? And what would Lestrade think about Sherlock finally going, despite the attempt being what Sherlock considered a failure?

Sherlock, already calming down, responded to Lestrade's question about what he had planned for later that week.  _A case, some experiments needing tending to._

But Sherlock couldn't stop thinking about what this night meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I haven't already, I've decided on a certain style. When I think of the phrase, I'll put it here.
> 
> I'm so glad people have been sticking around, I know I don't update often, and this is far from the best fic, but it's fun to write and I appreciate it.
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is welcome, as is the pointing out of typos/syntax problems/inconsistencies.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update on fic

I have been so busy lately but i have not forgotten this fic. I'm hoping to work on it this week. Cross fingers!


End file.
